1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly although not necessarily exclusively, to putters which are used in the game of golf to strike the ball along the surface of a green.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf is generally played on courses having eighteen or nine holes having “tees” at one end of the hole from which a ball is initially struck by a player and a green provided with a hole therein at the alternate end. The tee and the green are separated by a fairway and the general principle behind the game of golf is to deposit the ball in the hole on the green with as few strikes of the ball as possible.
Putters are typically used on the greens and on the fringes surrounding the greens to strike the golf ball towards the hole with the aim of depositing the ball in said hole. The hole is only of the order of 12 centimeters in diameter and when it is considered that putts, which term is commonly used to describe the strokes taken with a putter, may often be in excess of 12 meters (40 feet), it will be understood that great accuracy is required to ensure that the resulting position of the ball after the stroke is at least proximate if not within the hole. In general, the distance of the ball from the hole is proportional to the likelihood that the putt will be missed, i.e. further putts will be required to deposit the ball in the hole.
It is well known in the game of golf that a significant element of the professional game is centered on putting, and poor putters of the ball rarely achieve successful results. Indeed the difference between the scorecards of players with equal “tee to green” ability, but different putting ability is immediately evident.
It is surprising that there are currently relatively few putting training devices available, especially when it is considered that putting is such an essential element of the game. One device which is available, but adapted for conventionally indoor use, consists of a plastic tray provided with a U-shaped inclined channel which narrows along its length, one end of the channel being closed off and located substantially centrally and above the base of the device, the alternate end being open and adjacent the base level. The channel is typically integrally moulded into the device such that on placing the device on a carpet or the like, the wider open end of the channel coincides with the periphery of the device to create a sharp lower edge which rests on the said carpet. The channel is inclined upwardly from the wider open end to the closed-off end which is within the body of the device. Also within the device there is provided a battery-powered ejector mechanism.
In use the device is placed on a carpet, and a user wishing to practice his putting stands some distance away from the device and putts balls toward the device, which is disposed with the wider open end of the channel facing towards the user. The provision of a sharp lower edge of the channel which rests on the carpet facilitates the passage of a ball accurately struck along the said carpet by the user into the channel and towards the closed off end thereof provided in the device. A ball struck by a putter with the correct weight and accuracy of direction towards the device will locate itself in the closed end of the channel, which is provided with a slight recess and moulded to the spherical shape of a golf ball. The battery-powered ejector mechanism then detects the presence of a ball in the closed end of the channel and ejects same back down the inclined channel towards the putter who can again attempt to putt the ball with said correct weight and direction. It can be appreciated that a good putter of the ball will be capable of repeatedly striking the ball such that it is received by the narrowing channel and located in the recess at the closed end thereof.
The primary and pervasive disadvantage of such training devices is that they do not address any of the often numerous imperfections in the putting stroke of the player. In order to strike a golf ball with a putter directionally accurately, a smooth unerring swing is required. In particular, it is generally believed that the arc along which the putter head travels as the same is taken away from the stationary ball during the “backswing,” the arc which the putter head follows as it is returned to the ball to strike same, and the arc followed thereby after the ball has been struck, i.e. follow through, are to be part of the same imaginary circle whose centre is approximately between the shoulders of the golfer. Furthermore, the diameter of said circle in the direction which it is desired to strike the ball must be parallel to the plane containing the legs of the player. If this were not the case, the putting stroke of the player would either slice the ball at impact from above when viewed from above, or would push the ball from below. In any event, an undesirable component of velocity would be imparted to the ball at impact with the face. The only component of velocity ideally imparted to the ball at impact is in the desired striking direction. In this case the ball simply rolls in the direction in which it was struck.